Serbian

Almost without exception, the Cyrillic script tends to delight foreigners who encounter Serbian, while the cases, dialects and rules of the language pique their interest.

Part of the South Slavic group of languages, Serbian has had a rich and varied history. Its greatest exponents are also synonymous with intellect and enlightenment throughout the world – including Cyril and Methodius, Đuro Daničić, Vuk Karadžić, Petar Petrović Njegoš, and Dositej Obradović.

Serbian is a language of both the Cyrillic and Latin scripts, with four major distinct dialects, where the speakers of the Šumadija-Vojvodina subdialect and the Prizren-Timok subdialect understand each other perfectly.

It was in Serbian that Đuro Daničić wrote his seminal “War for Serbian Language and Orthography”, and Branko Radičević published his “Poems” in 1847, but it was also the language of Nikola Tesla, Laza Kostić, and Branko Miljković.

Serbian includes numerous words of Turkish, German, and Greek origins, as well as, increasingly, English borrowings, making Serbian a cultural hub, accepting and absorbing various other cultures.

Serbian can present quite a challenge for non-native speakers. Still, it’s a somewhat surprising fact that nowadays there is growing interest from foreigners wanting to learn Serbian.

Foreigners often come to Serbia for education purposes, and, while a knowledge of Serbian isn’t initially a requirement for this, in particular if they opt for a study program in English, many decide to study Serbian as an exotic, interesting and melodious language.

The Hi5 educational center enables all non-native speakers to acquire the basics of the Serbian language as quickly and easily as possible. Not only are all our teachers native speakers of Serbian, they are also reputable experts who research the language.

We are available seven days a week to answer any question you might have concerning the Serbian language. We facilitate your learning of Serbian, by, among other things, providing you with all the necessary learning materials for distance learning of Serbian.

We provide assistance for preparing for entrance examinations where Serbian language is required, adapting all Serbian language courses specifically to your needs.

We also offer translation services for Serbian.

Proofreading is also available on request.

The national certificate in Serbian for foreigners is the only document recognized both in the country and abroad, and accredited by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia.

In accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, there are 6 levels at which you can take an exam to obtain this certificate:

A1 and A2 (beginner),

B1 and B2 (intermediate), and

C1 and C2 (advanced).

Examinations take place at the Faculty of Philology, Belgrade University, with a cut-off point for applications 7 days before the scheduled date of the examination.

Curiosities related to a language or a country are a charming reminder that every culture is noteworthy in its own way, as well as being a fun way to learn something new.

Serbian is the only European language with digraphia, namely the use of two different scripts, Cyrillic and Latin, within the same language.

The word “vampir” is the only word of Serbian origin that has been adopted in most of the world’s languages.

No words in Serbian start with the letter F except those adopted from a foreign language.

Idioms in the Serbian language are often incomprehensible to foreigners. It is thus very difficult to explain expressions like “spavati kao zaklan” (meaning: “to sleep like a log”) or “ubila me je promaja” (meaning: “I have back / neck pain from sitting in the draft”).

Turkish rule exerted considerable influence on Serbian. Nowadays words of Turkish origin comprise a significant part of our language. Check out some of them here.

The best way to check your knowledge is to take a placement test to establish your level of proficiency in Serbian. After completing the test, you will have access to the test key.